1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to using an electronic timer to measure elapsed time and more particularly to measuring elapsed time since opening a container as may contain food or other perishable items.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the modern, fast-paced world, it has become increasingly difficult to remember all of the things that may once have been easy. While modern technology has touted making our lives easier by providing more leisure time, in many respects all it has done is push everyone to perform even more tasks in the same amount of time. This has led to an even greater need for time and task management techniques in order to keep up with the ever greater demands placed upon us all.
Large, seemingly important tasks have been addressed by, for example, having multiple individuals involved to ensure nothing is forgotten or overlooked or by utilizing electronic calendars with electronic reminders. By contrast, certain other tasks, however, are seemingly too simple to need time or task management assistance. As a result, these simpler tasks oftentimes place the greatest burdens on us by requiring us to simply remember them on our own.
Examples of such tasks include recalling when the last time a plant was watered. Another is determining whether an opened food container contains food still edible or, having expired, should be discarded. Some food containers such as milk and eggs provide an expiration date printed directly on the container. This expiration date is commonly referred to as a “use by” date. All the consumer has to do is compare the printed “use by” date to the calendar date to know whether the food may still be edible.
However, many other food containers do not include a printed expiration date and instead simply include a printed statement that the food will expire a certain number of days after first opening the container. This requires the consumer to have to recall when the container was first opened else risk consuming food that is no longer healthy to eat.
One prior approach to this problem is called timestrip smart labels by Timestrip Limited of the United Kingdom. A timestrip smart label is a single-use, disposable label which can be used on a food container. Before placing a timestrip smart label on a food container, a bubble at the back is first squeezed to activate the timestrip smart label. Activating the timestrip smart label causes a tinted liquid to begin migrating via capillary action through a porous material to visually indicate elapsed time.
Note, however, that there are a number of limitations to and questions about this prior approach. The timestrip smart label cannot be reset or reused after having first been activated. As such, a consumer can only use the timestrip smart label one time before having to discard it and obtain a new, unused timestrip smart label. Also, the timestrip smart label, due to its construction and method of operation, is limited to indicating a single, predetermined elapsed time period of, for example, three days. As such, the timestrip smart label has no ability to indicate an elapsed time any greater than its single, predetermined time period which may or may not correspond to the period of time a consumer needs to measure for a particular food container. Further, some consumers may be concerned about placing a timestrip smart label on a food container for fear of, for example, contamination due to the unknown chemicals and materials used therein, particularly should leakage of the chemicals occur. Additionally, some consumers may question whether a timestrip smart label will properly operate in the cold environs of a refrigerator or freezer.
Another prior approach involves a two-piece timer which, through use of the multiple pieces, can be attached to such items as food containers. In this approach, one piece determines the elapsed time and the other piece physically attaches to the food container via an adhesive strip. The first piece has a magnetic backing and the other piece is made of metal so the two pieces are attracted to each other via magnetic attraction.
The stated benefit of this two-piece timer approach is the ability to separate the two pieces thus leaving the second adhesive metal piece attached to the food container while being cleaned in a dishwasher thus leaving the first elapsed time piece safely dry for later reuse. Of course, this stated benefit has little value when the desire is not reuse of the same food container but, instead, to track elapsed time of a newly opened food container. Further, if a consumer accidentally knocks a first elapsed time piece off of a second adhesive metal piece attached to a food container, raises the possibility of the consumer becoming confused about which of multiple containers the first elapsed time piece belongs, particularly when the multiple containers each have a second adhesive metal piece attached thereto.
A further difficulty with this prior approach is its complicated display. The display of the two-piece timer simultaneous displays both days and hours of elapsed time. Simultaneously displaying this much information requires either a physically large display or small display numerals, neither of which is desirable in a simple, user friendly device.
Other approaches involve manually operated and/or mechanical time indicators, chemically activated food spoilage indicators, etc., as described and referenced in the background section of U.S. Pat. No. 6,817,192.
What is needed, therefore, is a simple, user friendly way to easily determine how much time has elapsed since opening a food container in order to know whether the food is still edible.